


Man in the Moon

by qu33nb33



Category: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
Genre: Angst, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Found Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Peni Whump probably, more things will be added as i figure out what this will be
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-15
Updated: 2019-02-28
Packaged: 2019-10-28 17:21:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17791568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/qu33nb33/pseuds/qu33nb33
Summary: After Peni is hurt, Miles is forced to bring her to his parents for help.He hadn't expected them to pretty much adopt both her AND him right off the bat, though. How do you tell your parents they can't adopt Spiderman?





	1. Let Me Be Your Shelter

**Author's Note:**

> wha--no, i am not starting another multichap fic that i have no idea what the plot is of yet! that's ridiculous! a purely preposterous notion!
> 
> ... yeah i have no idea what im doing
> 
> MASSIVE liberties taken regarding like.. everything. all origin stories and sources are being thrown out the window. bye-bye!

This wasn’t supposed to happen.  _ This wasn’t supposed to happen. _

**_Thwip!_ **

Miles struggled to keep up his steady webbing as he went, but it was hard to do so with a body in his arms.

_ Don’t think about it like that, Morales! Jesus! _

“Peni, Peni, please,” He whispered to her, “Can you hear me?”

She didn’t respond and he felt white-hot fear in his stomach. He hadn’t expected a new villain to rise up, and he certainly hadn’t expected it to be too much for even him and Peni to deal with. Peni had been knocked out when Miles was thrown back into her, and it had all gone down hill from there.

She was  _ bleeding. _

_ A lot! _

**_Thwip thwip!_ **

He couldn’t take her to the hospital--that was only asking for questions and an invasion of his and her privacy. He had a vague idea of where he should go and he let his instincts lead him there as his panicked mind (and body) tried not to hyperventilate.

Why wasn’t she healing? Did she have healing powers? How had he never asked this before?

“Fuck.” He allowed himself the word, just once! And then landed outside his bedroom window.

...Front door. Right!

He knocked, panicked, on the front door of his own house. He groaned mentally as he realized what time it was--it had to be past two am--but prayed they would open the door. He and his father--his father and  _ Spiderman _ had a good relationship, at least, but he didn’t know where that line ended.

He frequently worried about his dad arresting him or somehow finding out his identity, and this certainly didn’t help.

“Who is it?”

Miles breathed a sigh of relief when he heard his father’s voice on the other side of the door. He readjusted Peni so that he held her in both arms and lowered his voice.

“It’s Spiderman. Please,” His voice broke out of stress, “I need you-- _ re help _ !”

The speed of the locks unlocking on the other side was a small comfort, and then he was bathed in the light of his own home. There stood his parents with equally concerned looks on their faces.

He loved them  _ so much. _

“Oh my,” His mother covered her mouth with a hand, “What happened?”

“Please--” His grip on Peni tightened, “She’s my friend, I--I can’t take her to a hospital, I didn’t know where else to go.” He was glad the mask hid his tears. Even though his voice clearly betrayed his emotion, he didn’t want them to see him cry. 

He was Spiderman.

“Bring her in, bring her in.” Rio commanded, and Jefferson stepped out of the way and closed the door behind them. Rio motioned towards the couch and Miles obediently laid Peni down carefully. “Jeff--”

“First aid kit, got it.” Jeff handed her the box and Miles realized he hadn’t even noticed him step away to get it. 

“Th-the cut on her stomach is the worst, I think.” He offered in an attempt at help. 

Jeff hesitantly wrapped an arm around Miles, who leaned into it. “Hey, hey, it’ll be okay. We’re going to help her.”

Miles appreciated it and let himself shiver in fear.  _ This wasn’t supposed to happen. _

Rio peeled up the torn clothing and winced in sympathy. “Ay, what  _ happened?”  _ She cut away some of the fabric to keep it out of the way as she worked and shook her head. “This needs stitches. Jeff, an old towel por favor?”

“We were outnumbered.” He sighed and sat, useless, on his hands on the floor. “Her robot got separated from us.” He hoped that it--and, mainly, the spider--had gotten away okay. He theorized that when Peni woke up it would know where they were. At least, he really hoped he hadn’t lost her robot  _ and  _ her best friend.

Then again, with the way the night was going, that seemed on par.

“How about you, Spiderman, how are your injuries?” Rio glanced over at him, and he waved her off. 

“Don’t worry, my healing has already kicked in. I didn’t get caught in the middle like she did, either.”

He winced as Rio began to stitch up the deeper part of the gash. Blood was probably the worst part of the job, especially when he saw it on his friends.  _ Especially,  _ especially when he saw it on the youngest of the group.

“She’s just a kid.” Jeff’s voice was a mix of sad and angry. “How can she do this? How can her family let her? I don’t understand it.”

Miles understood. Really, he did. As great as being Spiderman was, he still wished that things had worked out differently. That he had been older, wiser, any number of -ers.

But it was too late, and he had a job now.

“I think her family makes her, actually.” He offered, trying to remember her origin story. “She took over for her dad when he died in the suit, and now she lives with her aunt and uncle who work on the robot.”

Jeff shot him a look. “And you let her?”

He paused at that.

“She’s only a year younger than I am. She’s twelve.”

Both Jeff and Rio stared at him. They shared a look before Rio turned back to her work. “You’re… Thirteen?”

He hadn’t realized they didn’t know that. Well, he knew they didn’t know  _ him  _ but--how old did they think…

“Yeah. I start high school next year.” There was a hint of pride in his voice.

They were quiet for a moment as Rio worked and Miles and Jeff watched her. After she stitched Peni up she took a rag with antiseptic on it and wiped down the remaining cuts and scrapes she saw. Miles and Jeff looked away as she moved Peni’s shirt up to finish checking for damage.

“She’ll be sore for a few days, assuming she doesn’t heal like you do.”

“I don’t think she does, but I’m not sure.” Miles frowned. “She’s different from the other spiders.”

Jeff chuckled despite the tension in the room. “Did the giant robot tip you off to that? Or did you figure it out yourself?”

Miles, shocked at the playful jab, dramatically reeled back. “Wow! You, sir, are quite rude.” Mentally he relaxed, finally, aware that his parents had let down their guard around him. Maybe it was because of his age, maybe it was because Peni needed help, but regardless of what it was he was grateful for it. He needed the safety, and he was pretty sure they knew that.

Rio smiled at them as she put back everything in the first aid kit. After a second, though, she frowned and looked back at Peni. Miles inched toward her instinctively.

“What’s wrong?”

Rio gave him a guarded look. “Where will she go now?”

“Honey,” Jeff placed his hand on Miles’ shoulder as he spoke to her, “She’s in good hands.”

Rio stared at Miles, hard, and he knew the look well. He knew that she was about to hold him responsible for something and that he should listen to what she had to say  _ very  _ carefully.

“She should stay here.”

“What?” Both Miles and Jeff asked, completely caught off guard. She should stay  _ here? _

“You said it yourself, Spiderman. She doesn’t have her robot. It might not be safe for her to go home without it, and we can watch her here.” She stood up and crossed her arms and Miles knew he’d lost an argument he hadn’t even started, “So she’s staying.”

Miles looked at Jeff, and Jeff looked at Miles.

Jeff looked at Rio.

Jeff looked at Miles.

Jeff shrugged.

Miles sighed. “Fine, okay. If you’re offering, I guess.” He rocked back on his heels as he stood. “But I gotta go, I have to tell the others what happened and--”

“Go, Spiderman. She can stay in our son’s room.” She placed a hand on each of his shoulders. She looked at him, her eyes full of compassion and caring, and Miles felt like she could see right through his mask. “We’ll take care of her.”

He nodded, choked up once again. “O-okay. I’ll be back tomorrow, then. If-if that’s okay.”

“Plenty okay!” Jeff patted him on the back, “You take care, Spiderman. She’s in good hands.” The echoed statement from earlier made Miles smile.

A thought occurred to him and Miles looked around. “Ah, do you have something I could write on? I should probably leave a note, in case she wakes up.”

Once he had scribbled out a note and folded it up he handed it to Rio, who held it tight in her hand. “I’ll make sure it’s where she can get it.”

Miles nodded as he was guided back to the front door. Before he could fully step out, though, Jeff grabbed his shoulder. “Spiderman,” His voice was soft, “If you ever need anything, feel free to stop by, okay? Our door is always open.

Miles dipped his head before he stuck a web in the air and  _ thwipped _ away.

Under his breath, as he began to cry again, he whispered-- “Thanks, Dad.”

  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi this chapter SUCKS but ive been staring at it for like TWO DAYS so it needs to just LEAVE!
> 
> future chapters will be more connected, of course, im still trying to set up the.. setting.. and it's kciking my ass. can you tell i dont write connected chapter fics a lot lmaoooooo
> 
> next chapter will be from rio's pov because i fucking.. love her
> 
> Also YES i AM in fact bullshitting all medical knowledge and villains. thank u for noticing uwu. review u heckers

“ Sooo…” Jeff swung his arms back and forth as he stared at the young child on his couch. “What… Was that about?”

It wasn’t like he had a problem with the decision. He definitely agreed that the girl needed their help, and there wasn’t anything wrong with her staying in their son’s room for the night while she healed. But it was so out of left field that he could only stand, stunned, as his wife gave him a confident smile.

“You get your Spiderman. I get the robot girl.”

He blinked, eyes wide, even more confused than before. 

“Will you carry her to Miles’ room? And be gentle with her.” She patted his shoulder and turned to open the door to their son’s room. Jeff nodded and carefully lifted Peni into his arms. Just a few months ago he couldn’t have seen himself even liking Spiderman, but now he apparently had to be a psuedo-guardian to two of them. And he… was surprisingly okay with that.

She was so  _ tiny _ . He wouldn’t have guessed she was twelve, and he wondered how much of that was her… odd appearance. She looked like she was straight out of a cartoon. 

It made his heart hurt. He went through years of training to put his life on the line,  _ and  _ he was an  _ adult. _ The idea that these children were out their risking their lives day after day made his skin crawl. What would their families think when one day they just didn’t come home? Would it all be worth it then?

He placed her gently on the bed and Rio scavenged around for clean clothes she could change her into. Jeff stepped out of the room and returned the first aid kit to where it belonged.

He sighed, emotionally and physically exhausted. He was thankful that at least Rio had the next day off work. It meant that they didn’t have to worry about her waking up in a strange place or needing anything. He also knew the girl would probably be totally fine on her own for a few hours, but… He was a  _ dad. _

He looked into the bathroom mirror as he closed the closet door. When did he start to look so old?

“What’s wrong, mi amor?” Rio walked in behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, “You look preoccupied.”

He made eye contact with her in the mirror and laughed softly. “How do we get ourselves into these messes?”

Rio hummed and rested her head on his shoulder. “We always make it through, though.”

He sighed. He knew she was right. Watching over a little girl for one night wasn’t going to be the end of the world. He just felt… something else. A nagging feeling in the back of his mind that told him this was  _ more _ than that. It was so much more, and this was the calm before the storm.

“They’re just kids, Rio.”

“And we’re doing all we can for them.” Her soft tone told him she understood, and he had no doubt she had thought the same thing. “I don’t know what they’re thinking, but we’ll be here if they need it.”

He turned around and wrapped his arms around her with a smile. “Someone has to be, right?”

“Exactly.”

\-----------

“Is she  _ okay? _ We should come over, just to be sure--” Peter’s voice filled the dark, quiet room, and Miles motioned for him to keep his voice down.

“Dude, no. She’ll be okay for the night, and I know none of you can just hop over at 5am.” He sighed and rubbed his face with his hand. “She’s with my parents, she’ll be fine until I can stop by after school tomorrow.”

How  _ that  _ situation occurred he still wasn’t sure. But at least he had people he could trust both in and out of the mask in his own world. He could rest at least  _ slightly  _ easier knowing that Peni would have someone with her.

“Are  _ you _ okay, Miles?” Gwen sounded as tired as he felt, which made him feel bad. He didn’t normally make a group call so late--early--but he would have felt worse if they had found out without him telling them, somehow. And of course Gwen understood.

He sighed and then yawned. “‘M fine. Just tired.”

Ham peeked into frame, apparently in the middle of work. “Get some rest, kid. Tomorrow--today?--we’ll see about Peni. I’m sure she’s hunky dory!”

They all made various sounds of agreement, and Noir chimed in.

“I agree. Nothing can be done at the moment, so sleep is ‘where it’s at’.”

There was a beat of silence before Gwen nodded once and said, “And with that, goodnight.”

Miles laughed softly to himself as the others soon closed their end of the chat. They were all worried, for sure, but there was nothing more that could be done. Peni would be fine, she just needed time to rest.

In all honesty he was kind of surprised they didn’t all jump at the opportunity to come to his universe. Even though he encouraged them not to--they all had their own lives, of course--none of them really ever  _ listened. _ Maybe it just went to show how hectic everything was at the time. 

He sighed and turned over in his bed, anxious. He’d… He’d almost gotten another spider killed. Because he couldn’t handle his  _ job _ . He couldn’t hope that things would be better next time because what if they  _ weren’t? _ If things could be better next time then they could be  _ worse _ too.

And he wouldn’t know what to do.

He sighed again and immediately heard Ganke throw off his blankets below him. The sound startle Miles and he whirled in place, getting tangled in the sheets in the process, and stared down at his roomate.

He expected annoyance or flat out anger, but Ganke only held up a can. “I have some BlueBull, if you want some.”

Miles smiled and accepted the drink.

\----

When Peni woke up she was instantly aware of two things.

One, her stomach  _ hurt. _ God, did it hurt. So did most of her body, actually. But she was alive, so that was something!

Two, Spider was sending tiny little waves of emotion every couple of seconds to judge their connection. As soon as she realized it she pushed further into their link, curious about what had happened.

Injured. Fled. Lost? Okay.

Peni rolled over onto her side as gingerly as she could and looked around her. She was in someone’s bedroom, oddly enough, and had obviously been patched up after her latest fight. She blinked a few times to get the blurriness out of her eyes and attempted to wake herself a bit more.

Miles had been with her and had probably been the one to get her out of the fight. Sooo… was this… His house?

She whimpered as she moved wrong and a flash of pain bloomed along her abdomen. She raised her shirt--definitely not her own shirt--and saw the intimidating gash along her stomach that was surrounded by dark blotches of bruises. Ah. Yeah that was. That was something she should probably be concerned about.

She heard footsteps approach the room and looked up just in time to see someone peek their head into the room. The woman looked delighted to see her awake, and Peni couldn’t help but share her smile.

“Oh, you’re awake!” The woman pushed the door open gently as she stepped into the room, “Spiderman brought you in last night. How are you feeling?” Her look turned more serious as she pointed a finger at Peni, “You shouldn’t be moving. It’s bad for your stitches.” 

Peni rolled back onto her back, an easier move than being on her side. “I’m fine! Thank you for your help. I’m Peni Parker!”

The woman smiled and sat on the edge of the bed. “Call me Rio. You came in pretty banged up, kid. You’re going to need some rest. Spiderman said he’d be back some time today.”

Peni nodded, used to various injuries from her fights. Usually she was in her own universe, though, and had a team of people to treat her. It was kind of nice to wake up in a bed with only one person looming over her instead of either the crushing crowd or lonely silence she usually had.

Rio helped her up into a sitting position and packed pillows behind her back. “Any relation to Peter Parker, by the way…?”

“Technically?” Peni shrugged and offered a smile, “I’m from a different universe. One where I take the role as the Spider Hero. Well, me and my psychic spider best friend and my robot of course.”

“...Of course.”

This woman seemed nice, and Peni definitely understood why Miles brought her here. She wondered what their connection was but didn’t dare ask Rio herself. She had said  _ Spiderman _ had brought her there. So, as far as Rio would know, Peni only knew Spiderman.

Peni wondered how Miles was doing on his own. She knew he had a hard time managing the responsibility that came with being a hero--they all did, at one point or another--and she would have given anything to have been there to support him after everything had happened.

“Did Spiderman seem okay?”

Rio smiled again, a beautiful thing in Peni’s eyes, “Ay, he seemed as okay as he could with his friend injured. A little freaked out, but understandable.”

Peni relaxed a bit. Good, Miles was safe. And she was safe. And Spider was probably safe, too.

All in all, a decent night out.

**Author's Note:**

> yall come talk to me on tumblr @lazzurite or add me on discord "i thnk ur love would be to much#3097" im lonely and want to talk about spiders


End file.
